Photo by Josh Meltzer | The Roanoke Times

Ghent Grace Brethren Church, at the corner of Maiden Lane and Wasena Avenue, is often called ''the Jesus Saves Church.''

The congregation of Ghent Grace Brethren Church hasn't shone with the glowing red light of Jesus lately. Neither have its neighbors near Roanoke's Memorial Bridge.

That's because the huge neon sign atop the church proclaiming "JESUS SAVES" was damaged in the windstorm Feb. 10 that temporarily knocked out power to about 45,000 customers in the Roanoke region. The sign, with 4-foot letters that face northwest, is an icon as visible in its community as the H&C Coffee and Dr Pepper landmarks are in downtown Roanoke. It now merely reads, "SAVES."

So essential is the neon badge to the identity of the Ghent Grace sanctuary that Zach Doppelt, the pastor, has a likeness of it printed on his business card. "Some people around here know us as 'the Jesus Saves Church,' " said Doppelt, 30, who arrived at Ghent Grace fresh out of seminary in Indiana in December.

"We'll get the sign back. Someone is coming to see about fixing it early next week," he said.

Lisa Sayers, a spokeswoman at Kinsey Crane & Sign Co., which will examine the sign, and has worked on it previously, said the wind may have damaged its transformer or the wiring, or could have broken a piece of neon tubing.

She said repairs could take from a few minutes to several hours.

Meanwhile, the verb in the neon rooftop message continues to work, triggered by an automatic timer that clicks on at dusk and stays on until midnight.

The return of the glowing image will be welcomed by Crystal Galyean, who has lived within a block of the church for four years.

"When we're trying to tell people who have never been to our house where we live, we just say, 'Near the Jesus Saves sign,' and they say, 'Oh sure.' ''

Helen Akers, who also lives near the sign, said, "I'd love to have that sign back. It means something to me; what it says is important."

Akers said that even when she has lived in other parts of Roanoke in the past, "I always seemed to see the Jesus Saves sign when I drove through here. It belongs here."

Some residents say their personal history intertwines with the sign. "My grandmother went to that church in the '60s. She took care of some people there. When I see the sign, I think about her," said Trudy Montgomery, who lives close by.

Doppelt said the historical records at the church don't state when the sign was built; a 1980 article in The Roanoke Times reports that the sign was erected in the early 1940s. The 1950s were a booming era for the church, when its congregation exceeded 300 members and it added a gymnasium. Doppelt estimates current membership and regular attendance at about 70.

The roots of Ghent Grace Brethren go back to 1885 at a location on Williamson Road. It had spots on Salem Avenue and Gilmer Avenue before the current site, a brick building at the corner of Maiden Lane and Wasena Avenue was dedicated in 1930.

Word about the sizable sign was one of the first things Doppelt heard about the church last year as a student at Grace Theological Seminary near Fort Wayne, Ind. "I heard the sign was well-known."

He formed a quick opinion. "When I saw it for the first time I thought it was brilliant -- instant notoriety. My second reaction was: What the sign says is true."

Like so many landmarks, the "JESUS SAVES" sign has become part of the landscape. So much so that Doppelt admits he didn't even notice that the top part was dark on the evening of the Sunday windstorm, when he led a worship service attended by about 20 people. "No one said anything. I didn't see it until Monday, when I was out walking my dog in the neighborhood."

The pastor is trying to keep the loss of the sign in perspective. "What's really important to this ministry is what goes on inside these walls. We believe that Jesus saves whether the sign is lit or not."